In domestic ironing, the article to be ironed is placed on an ironing board, and a hand-held iron is used to condition the fabric to achieve the desired result. Typically, the ironing board has an ironing table and a pair of legs that pivot relative to each other to adjust the height of the table.
The ironing board table is typically covered with a resilient pad that also dissipates the heat. The ironing board table and the pad are typically covered by a fabric cover. The fabric cover is slightly larger than the table and the peripheral edge of the cover is wrapped around the peripheral edge of the table. A binding along the peripheral edge may contain a drawstring to gather the fabric cover, thereby securing the cover around the peripheral edge of the table. An alternative method is to have an elastic binding mounted on the peripheral edge in place of the drawstring. The elastic binding gathers the peripheral edge of the cover to secure the cover around the peripheral edge of the table. The shortcoming of these methods is that neither method effectively holds the cover taut. Furthermore, neither arrangement holds the fabric taut in the lateral direction of the ironing table, that is, the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the table.
One method of tensioning an ironing board cover in the lateral direction is to secure a binding along the cover's peripheral edge and include lacing holes randomly interspersed along the binding. A drawstring extends through the binding around the periphery of the cover in a conventional manner. Portions of the drawstring is pulled through the randomly interspersed holes in the binding to provide eyelets. A lacing string is laced through the drawstring eyelets pulled through the holes in the binding in a criss-cross fashion across the underside of the board. See U.S. Pat. No. 2,711,601. A shortcoming of this lacing method is that it is difficult to adjust the tension in specific portions of the lacing string. Moreover, the lacing string must be unlaced completely to remove the fabric cover from the board for washing or replacement. The lacing string interferes with the mechanism that allows the legs of the ironing board to fold for storage. Therefore, the lacing string must be removed to fold the legs for storage. In addition, the binding along the periphery of the cover is typically made of a lightweight material and is likely to tear.
It is desired to have an ironing board cover that can be maintained taut in the longitudinal and lateral direction, and easy to install on the ironing board table.